What I find interesting is the Samsung Galaxy S. Despite Android being a "free" OS, which would supposedly enjoy a price advantage over the other OS players (S

What I find interesting is the Samsung Galaxy S. Despite Android being a "free" OS, which would supposedly enjoy a price advantage over the other OS players (Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc), Android phones continue to be sold at the same price-point (in the US) as the iPhone ($199). But now, the Samsung Galaxy S is being sold at discount pricing. It can be found for $99 (with contract), and even cheaper. Over the long term, it will be interesting to see whether Android can support the margins that device manufacturers need, or if competition among Android device manufacturers will drive margins to near zero in a game of volume. I wonder if the Samsung Galaxy S is the first example in a long term trend in discounting with Android devices. So far, that does not seem to be the case, as buzz for the Samsung "feels" mild, while carrier supported devices (Droid, etc) are doing well. Its certainly more complicated given the third player (carriers), and how they subsidize device purchases, but if manufacturer margins do drop because of significant competition, Apple may be one of the few device manufacturers to thrive in this market.